Heading into the Class 5A Region 4 tournament, MHS wanted to send a message that it is still a force to deal with, and it did just that with a dominant three-set sweep over Cedar Rapids Washington, 25-14, 25-15, 25-18.

Marshalltown head coach Chris Brees said even with a wrench thrown in their plan by the Warriors early on, the girls executed the plan beautifully.

“From point one I felt confident in what we were doing. We had a good gameplan against them but actually had to switch in the beginning because they switched their lineup a little bit, we changed things up and I thought we responded really well,” Brees said. “This is the team we know we can be and I have been waiting for it. Even when we got behind by a couple of points we responded.”

The Bobcats (13-20) dominated Cedar Rapids Washington (5-31) defensively, allowing just 17 total kills to the Warriors.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON - Marshalltown volleyball players, from left, Erica Johnson, Sophie Younkin, Alyvia Chadderdon (2), Autumn Finch, Madi Finch and Gabby Himes celebrate after scoring a point in the final set of the Bobcats’ three-set sweep of Cedar Rapids Washington during Class 5A regional play on Wednesday in the Roundhouse.

Senior Alyvia Chadderdon had 13 digs to lead Marshalltown, followed by 11 from sophomore Kyra Feldman — including a great moment in the first set where she had two without leaving the ground — and 10 by both juniors Erica Johnson and Madi Finch.

“We knew where they were going to swing and we knew who was going to get the ball, and we finally committed to what we were doing,” Brees said of his team’s defense. “We’ve committed to that in the past but having confidence in that and not second-guessing was big, just get to where we are telling you to go and if they change something up let us as coaches change it. I felt we were much better at responding to that tonight and playing what we started out to play the entire night.”

What also helped the defense was the strong block that the entire front line put up throughout the match. Senior Yatnia Hernandez had three total blocks, two assists and one solo, to lead the way, followed by two each from freshmen Autumn Finch and Sophie Younkin.

“Our blocking, even when it doesn’t go back for a point, when you stop the ball or slow it down it causes their offense to do different things,” Brees said. “They were trying some roll shots and tips that we were able to dig up pretty easy as free balls, which allowed our offense to get on the roll really quick.”

Younkin was the offensive juggernaut for the Bobcats against the Warriors, as she had a season-high 12 kills to pace MHS at the net. Johnson was next with seven kills, while Hernandez and junior Gabby Himes had five each.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON - Marshalltown senior Yatnia Hernandez (3) contests a hit by Cedar Rapids Washington attacker Orianna Crusoe (15) during the Bobcats’ three-set sweep of the Warriors in the Class 5A Region 4 tournament on Wednesday at the Roundhouse.

“We saw right away after they called a timeout really early, we knew then that we had the matchup that Sophie would be on the shorter blocker, and we knew we would have that shorter blocker because we worked on that in practice,” Brees said. “She was going out swinging hard, we got the matchup we wanted and she was able to kind of unleash herself and just go for it. She even had an error or two but came back and responded with a nice ball.”

Because of the work in practice, Younkin knew it was going to be her time to shine if she could make solid contact.

“I kind of had to realize when to swing and when to know it was my ball and when to know when to hammer it,” she said of her approach.

There was only one moment that Washington seemed like it was building momentum, as the Warriors started the third set up 4-1 and eventually held a 9-7 lead.

“We called a timeout and I talked to them about how we were giving them their points,” Brees said. “Don’t look at it as they were earning their points, look at is as we were giving it to them. If we stopped giving them things easy then we would win the game, and we stopped making those errors and the next thing we knew we were back up 10 points.”

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

Marshalltown would roll of five-straight points to go up 12-9 in the third, and the rest was history.

“We needed this confidence booster, we again needed to understand that we are a team that can do it,” Brees said. “Hopefully we continue with that confidence in practice, we talked about in the huddle right at the end that we have to come out with that intention at practice. It’s finally back to a good night where everything is clicking, and that’s what we needed.”

The road only gets tougher as the Bobcats inch closer to a possible state qualification. To continue down the regional path, they will have to beat 5A No. 6 Ankeny in the Region 4 semifinals next Tuesday in Ankeny.

Luckily Marshalltown, and Brees specifically, is familiar with the Hawks and head coach Joe Morton.

“Their coach and I coached together, he was my assistant in club before, so I know his tendencies very well,” Brees said. “As long as we execute what we are doing it will be a competitive match, so I like that I have a lot of video on them. We didn’t ever look past Washington but we had a feeling we’d be playing [the Hawks] so we’ve been studying what we are going to do in practice and now it’s up to us to execute.”

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

The 5A Region 4 semifinals in Ankeny between Ankeny and Marshalltown will start at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.